A few words before the 12 hour bus ride...

Praise God for good friends and times to rest. This past week I have been with Laura at her home in London, Ontario. I can't believe it's only been a week and a half since I waved goodbye to my children and sent them back to Uganda. Over the last 10 days we have rested, cried a little, laughed a lot, and tried to process where we are at. What a blessing it has been to be together. Together we have gone for walks, prepared for Christmas, drank LOTS of good loose leaf tea, watched our favorite movie-Anne of Green Gables, decorated a pretty snazzy looking gingerbread house, made several calls to Africa to check on our friends there, and...went to see the Olympic torch come through London on it's way to the Vancouver 2010 Games. It's been exciting. Christmas Eve and Christmas morning it really started to hit me how much I miss the kids and how lost I feel without them. I don't have any children to care for, no meals to cook, no real place to be. That's hard. I still have purpose in my life, it's just not as easy to see everyday. My goal in these next months is to rest and be renewed, but also to pour myself into other people just as much as I poured myself into those precious children.

It's 8pm and Laura and I are getting ready to board a bus in about two hours to drive all night to St. Louis. There we are attending the Urbana Missions Conference, along wtih 22,000 other young, enthusiastic, missions minded people. I am hoping it will be a great time of renewal and learning and not too overwhelming at this point. If your reading this I appreciate your prayers that God would use this week to help guide me into the next chapter of life. Will keep you posted!

Tearful Goodbyes

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -Dr. Suess

Thank you Dr. Suess for this quote that has become my motto over the last week. Wednesday I tearfully watched my children get on a plane and fly back to their homeland of Africa. It was hard not to feel like they were walking out of my life. I held myself together until hugging them goodbye and then I could hold the tears in no more. As I sit here 3 days later though, I am sincerely content and so thankful about the way our last hours were spent together. The night before going home, the children finally got their tour long wish to play in snow. We sledded and built snowmen, and chucked snowballs at each other with great excitement. The perfect way to spend our last night together. I slid down the hill with Racheal and at the bottom we layed back and looked up at the stars for awhile. I told her that even though we will be oceans apart we can still look up at the same big sky, the same sun, and the same moon. It's a beautiful thought and makes me feel so much closer to them. During our last hours together at the airport we had plenty of time to talk, take pictures, and read/draw pictures/play. Thanks to the wonderful people at British Airways we were all allowed gate passes to accompany the children all the way to the plane! What a tremendous blessing. I looked out the window at the plane backing out and imagined that someday those pilots in the cockpit will be Christopher and Julius. I hope with all my heart that their dreams come true.

Laura and I made it safely to Ontario Thursday and have been resting and adjusting to life off tour. I'm so thankful for her amazing friendship and the chance to be together at this difficult time of letting go. We've cried a bit, but also laughed a lot, reminisced, processed, and praised the Lord together for the rich year and half that we have shared. I'm quite content with how tour ended and am feeling good altogether.

Friday morning we awoke to a call from Africa and had the chance to talk with Patrick and a few of the children. What a blessing to hear their voices and hear all the children playing and laughing in the background. They are happy to be home and excited to see their families. As I write this blog the children are enroute to be reunited with their families and friends-a moment I wish I could be present to experience. They have grown and changed so much. I know their parents/guardians will be shocked, delighted, and proud to see who their children have become. I know their Christmas celebrations will be extra special this year, before the children return to the boarding school and start their full-time education.

Thank you for your prayers, sweet notes, and support for me during this time. I am doing surprisingly well right now. The intial parting and letting go has not been as difficult as I thought. I know it will be a gradual process and some days and moments will be hard, but I am so thankful for the Lord's strength, and good friends to walk through these times with me. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to those I won't see during the holidays!

Final Days

There have been many lasts these past couple weeks, but tonight was the finally the "real" last concert. I'm so thankful that we had the opportunity to do this Christmas event with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra as our last event. It's been such an honor to rub shoulders with world class musicians and singers. The children have made us so proud this past week. They have sang their little hearts out and they have impressed people who are far more educated and professional than they are. N'Kenge, the Broadway soloist who sang in the show with the children, just about knocked their socks off. She was gorgeous and had a brilliant soprano voice. I found Peace after the concert writing a letter to her tonight. She said "I love Auntie N'Kenge. I want to be just like her when I grow up. I am going to come back and visit her at her house." She said it with the most genuine childlike eagerness and faith. I promised to get the letter to N'Kenge.

As the children sang "Love in Any Language" tonight I geared up for the tears to come...but they didn't. When the entire cast and the whole theatre stood up to sing White Christmas at the end I got a little lump in my throat and I was sure I would cry, but somehow I didn't. This whole week I have been anticipating tears but it hasn't happened. I just pray they don't come at the most inopportune times.

Two days left now. That's when it really hits home. I appreciate your prayers for all of us as we prepare to go separate ways.

30 weary travelers arrive in Cincinnati

Newsflash: 30 excited and weary travelers arrive in Cincinnati after a 12 hour drive from North Carolina! All the bags are packed, the house is cleaned, the cookies are baked, and the kids are ready. Through rain and snow we made our way yesterday to the place that has seemed so far off in the distance. This week the children have four Christmas performances with the symphony orchestra before heading home to Uganda on the 16th. Our time at Mirembe flew by in the blink of an eye, but I am so thankful we had the chance to be together as a family. The bus pulled out yesterday morning and we waved goodbye to Mirembe. I thought I would cry, but I didn't. There were a few tears on the bus though, as I thought about things. I wrote down some random moments on the bus to try and remember the small things...

Christopher earned his own CD player, so he sat in front of me with the world's biggest smile, pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He said he dreamt about it all night. Uncle Steve made him his own personal mix CD, so he rocked out the whole ride to Lion King, Kirk Franklin, African Children's Choir, etc.

12pm-we entered Virginia and the children began to cheer as they saw snow covered hills for the first time!

2:15pm-random rest stop in West Virgina. After using the toilet and getting our Starbucks fix, everyone broke out into a huge snowball fight in the parking lot. It was the best snowball fight of my life :)

2:30-I pass out exams for the children to do while they ride. Meanwhile, I rock out to Christmas music and try to process...

3:45-I got bored and started passing notes to the kids. Nelson turned around and gave me the biggest smile ever. I started crying, thinking about how much I am going to miss little moments such as these. He wrote back asking if I am ready to go home or if I want to travel with them again. I cried again and told him I would like to live with them forever, but this season is over and it is time for us to go separate ways. He said he can't wait to be in Heaven with me.

6pm-Stop at buffet to stuff our faces :0

9pm-Arrive in Cincinnati and check into Comfort Suites...whew..home for 4 days.

In memory of my Grandmother

This blog entry is dedicated to the memory of my Grandmother. It's been 10 years (on Dec 22nd) since God took her to be with Him. I imagine she is having a party with him today, worshiping him and loving life. As the children were rehearsing this morning, and the rain was pouring down outside, I decided to be suzie homemaker (as my mom would say). Clad in an apron, I set to work baking chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. As I was cracking eggs, measuring flour, stirring with a wooden spoon, and scooping out dough, I thought of my Grandma. She was the best cook ever. Many of my childhood memories involve baking cookies or pies with her. As I was baking this morning I wondered if she could see me and if she would be proud of how I've learned to cook and am now feeding 30 people at a time. I love to cook, though I haven't had much opportunity until now. The kids have paid me many compliments which is very encouraging as a developing cook :). I hope that I inherited Grandma's cooking skills and I hope that someday my grandchildren can say boldly that I was a great cook. I love you and miss you Grandma. Can't wait to see you again someday!

Thank You Jesus

Thank you Jesus for always providing for my needs
Thank you for eyes to see the beauty of your creation
Thank you for this wonderful house you have provided for the choir
Thank you for the sunshine outside
Thank you for hot tea
Thank you for your Word which changes lives
Thank you for ears to hear music
Thank you for the 21 children across the room who have such hope and dreams
Thank you for the gift of photography to capture moments in time
Thank you for the amazing friends you have placed in my life
Thank you for the mystery of phones and the ability it gives me to keep in touch with loved ones
Thank you for the internet
Thank you for my incredible family
Thank you for the gift of love
Thank you for never giving up on us
Thank you for the gift of life
Thank you for this computer you provided for me to use
Thank you for the opportunity to travel and meet people from all nations
Thank you for the generous body of Christ
Thank you for words to communicate
Thank you for the freedom to worship you anywhere
Thank you Jesus for being a sovereign God who I can trust with my life

Gifts of Joy

It's like Christmas around here today! when the lights were turned on in the living room this evening the children entered to find giant suitcases for each of them filled with new clothes, shoes, towels, school supplies, soccer balls, clothes for their families, and everything they will need for when they return home (in two weeks!). Imagine 21 children screaming and running around. Imagine teen boys wrapping their arms around a suitcase and kissing it over and over. Imagine a small boy throwing underwear in the air and shouting "new knickers!" Lindsey, Laura, and I have the privilege of going through the suitcases with each of them as they try on all the clothes. Their responses have been priceless. Rose said she was shocked and cried out in excitement. Patrick said "I am going to sleep in my suitcase. I think so."I can't wait to go through the rest tomorrow. No matter what Christmas holds, this makes my Christmas. I don't need a wii, or an iphone, or ten new sweaters. These children have reminded me what it means to have joy no matter the circumstances and what it means to be thankful for each blessing God gives. May I never take life for granted.

Jackson led devotions tonight and he did a fantastic job. I know he wants to be a chef, but I secretly hope he becomes a pastor. He read the Great Commission and talked about what it means to go and make disciples. The children fired questions at him like, How do you make disciples? Do you have to go to another country to be a disciple? And if you make disciples of your family members can they go and make more disciples? Nine year old Jackson confidently stood and answered those questions like any good pastor. As I listened to these children talk about following Christ, teaching their families everything they have learned from us, and being missionaries no matter where they are, I was filled with such pride and joy. These children are special and I have no doubt that they will go on to change the world...one person at a time. May God protect them and bless them on this journey!

In Christ Alone

In Christ Alone is one of my all time favorite songs. It has a lot of meaning in my life and brings up many memories. Five years ago I sat in Torrey Gray Auditorium at Moody Bible Institute listening to that song for the first time ever. I cried. It was then and there that God showed me that he wanted me to move to Chicago to attend Moody. Much has happened since that day, I graduated with my degree and have been many places, but I still love the song just as much, if not more. Tonight the words of the song floated through the room here at Mirembe during devotions, as the children wrote down what Christ has done for them. They pinned their papers to a handmade wooden cross that Geofrey and I made this afternoon. As I watched them, I thought back to that day at Moody and marveled at how far I have come. I just finished reading back over the 112 blog entries I have written on tour, to prepare myself for debriefing. It's crazy to see it all written down. Thanks for prayerfully following the journey with me.

Thankfulness Abounds

I don't have to think hard this Thanksgiving to figure out what I am thankful for. My heart is already brimming over. I have just been reading back over old blog entries from the past year however, to help process and get ready for debriefing this coming week. I noticed that my older entries flowed much better and were beautiful to read. The more recent entries seem to appear more straitforward and not so eloquent. Not sure what happened. Anyway, it's wonderful to go back and see what I wrote and what I was thankful for this whole year through. God's faithfulness is incredible and his blessings abundant. I sometimes fail to see them though. It is my prayer that I will never lose the eyes to see God's fingerprints on everything around me every day of my life.

Our time of celebration here at Mirembe House has been great. Yesterday we piled in the bus and went to the movie theatre to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. Kind of a wierd movie...but also strangly funny. Today was more of our Thanksgiving celebration. Thanks to a family from Kings Park International Church we spent a fun morning, at their Christmas tree farm picking out a tree, playing games, and taking lots of pictures.

With some time to kill after the tree farm we decided to crash the party at Starbucks. After ordering 21 hot chocolates and several fancier drinks for the aunties and uncles we settled in at the tables, on the chairs, the windowsills, and the floor of Starbucks to read books, play games, and enjoy our drinks. Once again, the children's behavior amazed the people around and made us proud! You should have seen the barista's face when I informed him that these are the children that recorded on the CD that he had on his counter. Right now if you purchase $15 worth at Starbucks you will receive a free CD called All You Need Is Love. The first song of the same title was recorded by Playing For Change and features in part The African Children's Choir (our kids!). The song was recorded by many people/groups so you may not be able to distinguish their voices but they are part of the chorus :) Go pick it up if you get a chance. This afternoon a lovely family from KPIC invited us all over for a Thanksgiving Feast. It was wonderful. With full tummies and full hearts we enjoyed a leisurly afternoon and then toasted marshmallows by the fire in the evening. With 21 firey marshmallows being waved around I was a little nervous. God spared us all though and we left with sticky fingers and warms hearts. Thank you to the Metty's!

19 days left until the children fly home. The marbles in the jar hardly cover the bottom and as each day slips by I try to focus on the children and not think about how hard it is going to be to say goodbye...

Andy Griffith

I remember watching the Andy Griffith show at my grandparents house when I was a kid. I loved watching all those old shows. Television used to be worthwile and funny, now it just makes me sick or worries me, or makes me wish I had a boyfriend or different clothes. Pointless. Today I took a walk down memory lane in Mount Airy, NC. I'm staying with my friend Kimi, from Moody, and her husband Adam for a few days vacation. This afternoon we decided to take off and go to the hometown of Andy Griffith. It's a pretty tourists place, but we had fun playing tourist. We got to see the real squad car used in the show and did some shopping. Apparently we were close to getting arrested too...I went on some private property to get a picture in a rare laurelwood gazebo and a lady jumped out of her car and came running to tell us to get off the property. I guess they have been having trouble with trespassers and the police had just left a few minutes earlier. She was worried they would see us and arrest us. Ha! Would have made a great story. We managed to stay out of trouble the rest of the day, but got some good pics :)

A Boy with a Vision

No 13 year old boy has ever brought such tears to my eyes or hope to my heart, as my precious Nelson. I made some tea and sat down with Nelson at the picnic table this afternoon to have a chat with him about preparing to go home and about his future. I am absolutely blown away by the wisdom and vision that God has given him at such a young age. Last night Nelson was asked what poverty is and he answered that it is people who do not have enough money. I decided that though he is young, I think he is knowledgeable enough and mature enough to discuss world poverty. So I asked him if poverty is only a lack of money. He replied that there is also poverty of the heart, in which people (even people who have money) are hopeless and unhappy because they don't have Jesus). Exactly the point I was getting at. God has undoubtedly given this boy the heart and mind of a preacher / missionary. We chatted about how hopelessness is at the root of poverty and people who don't believe they are worth anything or that anyone loves them, cannot get out of their circumstances. This is why the cycle of poverty continues. We had a really good talk about it and I told him that I want him to make sure he understands poverty because I firmly believe that God is going to use him to help pull other people out of poverty and give them hope. He has an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness. He didn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ until he came to Makindye and Music For Life. God rescued him through Music For Life and he is a changed person. He now wants to help others and give them hope and a future. I asked Nelson about what he is excited about when he goes home. He said he is worried about his family because so many of them are not saved. When he went on break from Makindye he tried to tell them about Jesus and they told him he was just a small kid with silly childish ideas. He has such a vision to go home and give hope to his family and teach them how to love Jesus more. It's incredible. He said he wants to increase their faith. Nelson wants to be a minister, but he asked me what I think he could be if he doesn't become a minister. I told him he would make a good teacher, or possibly a businessman, but most of all I think God might call him to be a missionary. He agrees. I showed him the video clip of Jimmy Wambua, a man from Kenya who was sponsored through Compassion International as a small child. He is now in the States studying at Moody so he can go back to Kenya and stand in the gap to help others break the cycle of poverty. He even sponsors his own child now. Well, a few months ago he had the opportunity to meet his sponsor for the first time at a Compassion convention on stage. He wept. I watched the video and cried too. I showed the video to Nelson because I thought it would be good for him. He loved it and he told me that when he grows up he wants to be like Jimmy. He wants to come to America and study God's word. He wants to sponsor other children. He wants to adopt children and help them. He wants to travel the world and spread a message of God's love and grace. He has such an incredible vision for such a small boy. And he is so humble about it all too. I was very honest with Nelson and told him about my hopes and dreams for working with the poor and oppressed. I told him about wanting to come back to Uganda. I told him why I came to work with the African Chidlren's Choir. The boy brought tears to my eyes. He gave me a string of the greatest compliments I have ever received. He told me I have changed his life because I have loved him, I have taught him to love Jesus more, I have educated him, I have helped him learn really good English (like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious), I have given him hope, I have believed in him, I have encouraged him. Honestly, the boy just reaffirmed God's calling on my life. Giving hope to others is the best possible way to spend every day of my life. He told me a good teacher is one who believes in the students, who cares about them, and who loves God and gives hope. The moments I will never forget. I love that boy and I wish I could adopt him. I can't wait to see how God uses him. Never has any child made such an impact in my life or inspired me so.

Living Without Regret

Yesterday I did a lot of thinking about how to live without regret. I feel like I have done a pretty good job of living without regrets on this tour, but in preparing to do some staff devotions for our team last night I realized how precious each moment is. I read a quote I loved..."a moment lost is gone forever." What a good realization. So...today I made the most of every moment. It was a great Saturday. Started off with Chocolate chip pancakes and little smokies, while blaring the Christmas medley that the children are trying to learn for their symphony performances next month. Laura put up the lyrics on posters all over the dining room and we listen to the song at least three times at every meal. Lindsey commented the other morning that it looks like Christmas threw up all over our walls. It's true. We added some lights the other day to make it look very festive. After some bopping to tunes while cleaning up around the place I spent the morning with a few of our smallest boys. We jumped on the trampoline (a very rare treat), and then had a treehouse club meeting. Hannington, Mo, Christopher, Patrick and I made some chai tea, put it in travel mugs and headed up into the fort. There are conversations that take place in a tree fort that just don't happen other places. Can I just say that I love little boy conversations..especially from these little boys. They actually spent 20 minutes seriously trying to convince me that mermaids are real and they have seen them in Uganda. When I insisted that they are pretend and Ariel is just make believe they made up some elaborate story about seeing mermaids sitting on a rock when they went to fetch water and told me that there different things in different places. I said yes, but I know mermaids don't exist-even in Uganda. Chris then gave me a very spiritual answer-if God wanted to create a mermaid he could. I replied.."well yes, but he didn't." They didn't believe me. O well.

As we drew pictures of tree houses, airplanes, Superman, and Veggie Tales, we talked about life and what we'll miss after tour. Christopher almost made me cry when he commented. "I don't think I'll forget Lino because he teached me." My other favorite Christopher quote from the morning:

Can God talk to the sun? -Chris
Yes. -Me
Then why doesn't it have eyes? -Chris

In the afternoon we built a fire and roasted marshmallows. Well..I sat on the picnic table pretending to play guitar, while Julius roasted them for me :) I've decided one of my goals for this coming year is to learn guitar. I know i've said that before. But I really mean it this time. I think.

A dinner of grilled burgers and now we are finishing off the day watching a very nostalgic movie...Homeward Bound. Perfect Saturday.

Rainy School Days

Today I am having a hard time with organized/structured learning. I am a firm believer that children learn best when they are doing something hands on and talking about it. Some days we do that, but in Uganda school is mostly done sitting still and quiet, so I find myself trying to uphold that expectation. Some days it near drives me crazy. Hurrican Ida has left us with a few days of heavy rains and high winds so the children haven't been outside for a couple days. They are a little stir crazy and so am I. This morning we are trying to make some thank you cards. They are cute, but the only think getting me through is my hot tea and good music :) Lord give me patience.

Tonight I am making pork loin . Never made pork loin before, but I found a tasty looking recipe online. Hope it turns out as good as the last few meals. Here's hoping!!!

P.S. Did you know you can make at least 264 words with the letters in the word edification? Crazy.

Settling in at Mirembe

The touring part of tour has come to an end and though we are a bit sad that the concerts are over, the host families are over, the bus rides are over, the new cities are over, and the amazingly generous churches are over, we are happy and relieved to be together and have a rest from the craziness that was so much a part of tour life. We have settled in to our life here at Mirembe House in North Carolina for the next 6 weeks or so. It's good to be back, nestled in the woods, next to the lake, at a place all our own. Here the children can run around and play outside or inside and we can just be a family. What a blessing this place is. This past week was camp, meaning the children did nothing but play. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the warm sunshiny NC weather.
One of the highlights of this past week was our complimentary trip to the Paul Mitchell Salon training center, for free haircuts and manicures. Even the skeptical boys ended up having a good time. After all the pampering was over, the people at the salon turned on music and the whole staff had a giant dance party with all of us. How many can say that have had a dance party at the salon?! Haha. Then they all played a big soccer game in the field next the salon. Good times.

Being at Mirembe House also means we get to do all our own cooking which is fabulous. I have learned many things and aquired many random skills while on tour, one of which is grocery shopping and cooking for approx 30 people :) This past week I had to make beef stew for everyone and I was terrified, because I have no idea how to make beef stew. Laura, my faithful sidekick and I looked up a recipe online and started chopping. Five hours later we had two giant bubbling pots of delicious beef stew and a pumpkin cake for Laura's birthday. It turned out so good they came back for thirds! Yes! I was excited.

This week we started back into school and rehearsals to prepare for our Christmas program with the Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra. I asked a few of the boys if they were excited to go back to school and rehearsals or if they still wanted to play all day and they excitedly said school and rehearsals...because they love to learn. Bless the teacher's heart :)

Last Church...

So, last night was our fun end of tour concert (even though we have one concert left tomorrow..but it's a big ticketed event, not conducive to silly aunties and uncles). I thought I would feel more emotional, but I didn't..maybe because I know I will still be with the children for another month and a half, and I will see them sing again with the Cincinnati symphony in December. We had fun though. During sound check Steve put on Gilbert's costume and surprised the children by coming out to sing the "O Happy Day" solo.

Auntie Lindsey, Auntie Rachel, and I joined the children for warm-ups. We put on the boys' hats and did breathing excercises. The children pretty much lost it. Haha. During the concert we all sat in the front row and helped conduct on some of the songs. When "O Happy Day" rolled around at the end we surprised them again by jumping up on stage to dance with them. Laura did the solo and the rest of us made a fourth row in the back and danced like fools. My host commented later that evening that I "looked really great up there." Hahaha. All I could think about was how much fun I was having and how I never would have been caught dead a year ago dancing like that on a stage in front of all those people. How I have changed :).

I honestly don't know how those children do what they do. After one song I ran off to man my product table at the end of the concert. I was huffing and puffing and almost choked until Lindsey brought me some water! Note to self: take dancing lessons when tour is over.

Today we drove through the gorgeous hills of W. Virginia and Virginia to get to North Carolina. This is our last church on tour. unbelievable!! Monday we head to Mirembe House for about 5 weeks to prepare to sing with the symphony and to prepare to go HOME. Please continue to pray for us as we go through the process of ending tour and I look toward the future. I'm so happy to be sharing this journey with all of you.

Lasts

This week we are beginning to experience the beginning of the 'lasts' on tour. We have 3 concerts left on church tour before we spend some downtime at Mirembe House in North Carolina and the children perform with the Cinncinnatti Symphony in December before flying home the 16th. Today was my last "official" day off on tour. It was a wonderful day in Charleston, West Virginia with my two best friends from tour. Highlights from the day:

1) Slept in until 10:30 am in my 'bear cave' after going to bed at 2:30 am.

2) Enjoyed a leisurly morning alone.

3)Drove a cute white Honda into downtown Charleston.

4) Bought a cute new sweater in preparation for Christmas in Canada (after Patrick and Laura watched me try on about 20 in JC Penney!)

5) Saw a friend from Moody (Mike) @Starbucks in the mall (he is getting ready to go to Uganda as a full time missionary!)

6) Walked along the river and did a fall photo shoot with my 2 best friends.

7) picnic on the water (in the rain) with really yummy cheese.

8) Had tea and mini dance party with Sarah, Peace, and Gladys before bed.

9) Listened to Josh Groban Christmas music while blogging :)

Life is good. Life is changing. I am thankful. I am excited. I love my friends. I am blessed.

Be sure to check out Facebook for more pictures :)

Boys Will Be Boys

I love being an auntie to boys...last night I stayed with 6 of the boys and we had a party here in beautiful Charleston, West Virginia. Yes, it included me walking around with a baseball cap on sideways, saying "Yo, what's up boy?" Hehe. I love my job. It also included me up at 11:30 giving out cough medicine and throat losenges (sp?) because nobody could sleep. I don't mind that part either. I like taking care of sick kids. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the evening...

"I didn't know what beauty was until I saw your face" -Nelson to Auntie Angela

"Hello, my name is Hanny. When I grow up I want to be a honey man." -Hanny

"Leadership is hard...people want different rules. I would rather be a minister and bring people close to God and teach his rules, rather than be a king making my own rules for people." -Nelson

"I wish I had your voice Nelson. I would scare people." -Geofrey

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" -host son

"Is that English?" -Nelson

"Girls are crazy. They get annoyed and stay annoyed for years." -Lino

"Boys, don't buy me a python for Christmas. I won't write you letters when you go back to Uganda." -Me (after the boys were looking at pictures of snakes and talking about how I need one)

At bedtime I had just tucked the boys in when they all jumped out of bed. Gilbert shouted "remember what Auntie Laura said?" They all started circling me and then jumped on me on the bed in a huge dog pile. We all started laughing and our host said, "We call that a dog pile. What do you call it?" They said, "a sandwich hug!" Then all I heard was, "Auntie Angela is the tomato..I am the cheese...I am the mayonaise!" Hahaha. Thank Auntie Laura. Loved the bedtime hug.

West Virginia Fall Evening

12:30am...do I go to bed or blog??? Definetly blog :)

I am here in a hotel room in West Virginia enjoying a few rare hours of peace and quiet, but also feeling a little lost without my children and wondering how awefully lonely I will feel after tour.

The leaves in WV are beautiful! I just wish I could get a really good picture of them...unfortunately when the bus is moving is not the best time, and that is when I see the best panoramic shots. This week has been refreshing and exciting. Three small tidbits of exciting news:

1) Laura had a host give $700 in cash the other day to use to buy the children any new clothes that they need. She said her mom gave her the money before she died and she hadn't known what to do with it until now. Wow! Laura and Lindsey and I went on a shopping spree today to pick out $700 worth of clothes. It was so much fun!!!

2) The church we are at here in Huntington decided to bless the children with new winter jackets as the weather is turning colder and colder (there have even been threats of snow!). The jackets were presented to all the children last night amidst squeals of joy and dancing around the room. Some people are so generous!

3) I got to spend my day off today with an old friend from Moody. Kalyn and I were inseperable our first week at Moody in 2005. People thought for sure that we had been friends before coming to school, but indeed we had just met. I thank God for Kalyn's friendship, especially that first week. She is now married with an adorable son (Xavier) and we spent the day talking, catching up, and playing with Xav. Good times! Praise God for good friends in so many places. It's refreshing.

Now I am finding anything to do, but go to bed, because I want to enjoy the peacefulness of this hotel room and the productive feeling I have right now :) However, there is not much else to do at this point...so goodnight world. Off I go to dreamland...